I have no knowledge of the breed of dog that Brian wants to bring from Europe, but I do have a bit of experience with importing Greyhounds from Ireland. These are retired racing dogs or ones that never developed into racers. Their ages range from 2 to about 5 yo. Brian doesn't mention the age of the dog he has in mind.
These Irish greyhounds are flown in batches of four to six from London to Raleigh on a non-stop American Airlines flight lasting about 8 1/2 hours. They are shipped in large individual crates clearly marked "LIVE ANIMALS". Add at least an hour or so for crating and loading/unloading on each end of the flight So the dogs are in crates for 10+ hours PLUS the time it tales to ship them from Dublin to London. The AA flight to Raleigh typically flies at an altitude of about 40,000 feet where the outside air temp is about -70 F. The atmosphere in the portion of the cargo area where the dogs are carried is surely controlled.
In spite of the travel process, the dogs are surprisingly well adjusted when they arrive here. Tails wag, they enjoy a bit of human attention, and seem no worse for the wear. I usually help out by taking one somewhere near the cargo area so the dog can relieve itself, drink some water, and walk around to stretch its legs. Then it's off to the person who will foster it prior to adoption.
The bottom line to all this is that shipping a dog by air for a log distance isn't as bad as we might think.
